Semantics Session Non-literal meaning

1. Department of English Language and Literature
Major: English Language and Literature
Semantics Session 12
Non-literal meaning: idioms, metaphor, personification and
metonymy
Dr. Badriya Al Mamari
Academic year 2021/2022

2. As studied in the previous session's ‘literal’ meaning, evokes
two main ideas:
1.first, the meanings of words and sentences are essentially
independent of the context or occasion of use;
2.Second, the meaning of a composite expression is essentially
compositional

3. • The study of non-literal meaning, especially metaphor, has
become much more important in recent years, partly because
semanticists have begun to realize how prevalent it is in
everyday language.

4. Idiomatic expressions (idioms)
• Are multi-word phrases whose overall meanings are
idiosyncratic (distinctive) and largely unpredictable, reflecting
speaker meanings that are not derivable by combining the
literal senses of the individual words in each phrase according
to the regular semantic rules of the language.

5. • The typical meanings of idioms are not fully compositional,
however, most idioms also have possible, though unlikely,
literal compositional interpretations along with their
idiomatic senses.

6. Examples:
1.“let the cat out of the bag”
2.“take the bull by the horns”
• These two idioms are commonly used which have to be
learned as a whole.

7. Comments:
Example 1: “let the cat out of the bag”
Usually used to mean something like ‘reveal a secret’, or
‘release a small feline animal from a sack.
Examples 2: “take the bull by the horns”
Typically evokes the idea that someone ‘takes charge of a
situation’ or even its literal compositional meaning ‘grab a
(real) bull by its horns’.

8. • Examples :
• Each of the following sentences is ambiguous, containing a
phrase that could be understood either idiomatically
(figuratively) or literally, depending upon the context in
which the sentence is used.>>>>>

9. Example 1: “The people let their hair down”
A.Literal sense: ……..…
B.Idiomatic sense: ……….
A.Context for literal sense:………...
B.Context for idiomatic sense …….

10. Comment:
A.Literal sense: people with long hair physically let their hair hang down
from an up (constrained) position to fall around their shoulders.
B.Idiomatic sense: the people relaxed their inhibitions and behaved less
carefully.
A.Context for literal sense: perhaps the people were getting ready to
wash their hair.
B.Context for idiomatic sense: the people were in a relaxed mood at a
party and behaved in a free and natural manner.

11. Example 2: “He put his foot in his mouth.”
(a) Literal sense:
....................................................................................
Idiomatic sense:
.....................................................................................
(b) Context for literal sense:
...................................................................
Context for idiomatic sense:
..................................................................

12. • Literal sense: he actually put one of his feet in his mouth.
• Idiomatic sense: he said something inappropriate.
• Context for literal sense: he could refer to a dog who is cleaning
his feet by licking them.
• Context for idiomatic sense: a person is saying things that are
inappropriate.

13. • Idioms figurative meanings are often metaphorical in nature.
• Examples: 1.Dr Jones is a butcher
2. My car is a lemon.

14. • Example: “Dr Jones is a butcher”
• Comment:
• Dr Jones may also work part of the time as an actual butcher.
• Dr Jones is not a particularly good doctor.

15. Anomaly and Non-literal meaning
Examples :
• 1.Frank is a snake in the grass
• 2.Jane lives in a cottage at the foot of the mountain
• 3.Marie is sitting at the head of the table

16. Example: “Frank is a snake in the grass.”
Anomaly: Frank is being equated with (or classifed as) being a
particular kind of animal (a snake), which is literally untrue.
Nonliteral meaning: something about Frank’s behaviour is
untrustworthy.

17. METAPHORS
• A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a
comparison between two things that aren't alike but do have
something in common.
• Examples:
1.Laughter is the best medicine.
2.The black sheep of the family.
3.Time is money.
4. Last night I slept the sleep of the dead.

18. • Speakers make use of a familiar area of knowledge, called the
source domain, to understand an area of knowledge that is less
familiar, the target domain.
• The source domain is typically understood through our experience
in and with the physical world around us.
• Examples: 1.Dr Jones is a butcher
2. My car is a lemon
1.1.butcher is a ‘profession/ job’ domain
2.1.Lemon is a ‘fruit’ domain.

19. Types of Metaphores:
• 1.Structural metaphors
• 2.Orientational metaphors
• 3.Ontological metaphors

20. 1.Structural metaphors
• A structural metaphor is a metaphorical system in which one
complex concept (typically abstract) is presented in terms of
some other (usually more concrete) concept.
• Examples:
1.He attacked every weak point in my argument.
2.His criticisms were right on target.

21. Examples:
• (1) Her point of view is unjustifiable.
• (2) They attacked everything we said.
• (3) I finally won/lost the argument.
• (4) She defended her claim that the moon is habitable.
• (5) We demolished their argument.
• (6) My strategy against their argument was weak.
• (7) Our criticism of his claim was right on target.

22. Activity :
Each item below contains several everyday English expressions
that bring a particular structural metaphor. Identify it:
1.John and Mary have come a long way together.
2.Our lives have taken different paths.
3.I think she will go far in life.
4.We have come to a crossroads in our life.
Metaphor:…………………………….. ??

23. 1.We can save time by taking this shortcut.
2.This delay will cost us at least two hours.
3.She always spends too much time shopping.
4.Stop wasting my time.
Metaphor:……………………………??

24. 2.Orientational metaphors
An oriental metaphor is a metaphor (or figurative comparison)
that involves spatial relationships (such as up-down, in-out, on-
off, and front-back).

25. Examples :
1.more is up; less is down: (Speak up, please. Keep your voice down, please).
2.healthy is up; sick is down: (Lora rose from the dead. He fell ill.)
3.conscious is up; unconscious is down: (Wake up. He sank into a coma.)
4.control is up; lack of control is down: (I'm on top of the situation. He is under my
control.)
5.happy is up; sad is down: (I'm feeling up today. He's really low these days.)
6.virtue is up; lack of virtue is down: (She's an upstanding citizen. That was a low-
down thing to do.)
7.rational is up; nonrational is down: (The discussion fell to an emotional level. He
couldn't rise above his emotions.)

26. 3.Ontological metaphors
• An ontological metaphor is a type of metaphor (or figurative
comparison) in which something concrete is projected onto
something abstract.
• Personification as a form of ontological metaphor. In
personification, human qualities are given to nonhuman
entities.

27. Examples:
1.Life has cheated me.
2.Inflation is eating up our profits.
3.Cancer finally caught up with him.
4.The computer went dead on me.
The words “inflation, cancer, computer” are not humans, but
they are given qualities of human beings, such as “cheating,
eating, catching up, and dying”.

28. Metonymy
• Metonymy is a figure of speech in which one object or idea
takes the place of another with which it has a close
association.

29. • Examples:
• Silicon Valley: Referring to the American advertising industry.
• Hollywood / Bollywood (Referring to the American / Indian film industry or
celebrity culture )
• Al Rusayl (Referring to an industrial area in Oman)
• Al Duqum
• Crown: (Referring to a member of the British royal family)
• The White House: (Referring to the American administration.)
• The Pentagon: (For the Department of Defense and the offices of the U.S.
Armed Forces.)
• Dish: ( Referring to an entire plate of food.)

30. References:
• Hurford, J., Heasley, B. & Smith, M. B. (2007) Semantics a Coursebook,
(2nd) edition). Cambridge University Press.
• https://www.thoughtco.com/